A summary of the improvements in the latest version of DEPOMOD (NewDEPOMOD) as compared with earlier versions (DEPOMOD/AutoDEPOMOD)

DEPOMOD is a software tool created to predict the level and extent of deposition of particulate waste material and associated benthic impacts resulting from open cage finfish aquaculture based on user defined farm (e.g. feeding rates, configuration) and environmental information (e.g. currents, bathymetry) (Cromey et al. 2002). This tool offers a way of predicting the suitability of new sites based on a suite of compliance conditions, and outlining the allowable zone of effect (AZE). DEPOMOD uses the relationship between waste deposition rates and infaunal information (abundance and the Infaunal Trophic Index (ITI)), to assess whether a proposed farming scenario (stocking biomass) would be environmentally compliant. The original version of DEPOMOD required the running of three separate model components: i) grid creation, i where i) a deposition model and iii) a resuspension modules. The user could re-run the deposition and re-suspension applications under varying fish biomass scenarios until the results indicated a compliant stocking biomass. AutoDEPOMOD collated these separate applications into the one automated process, returning the most appropriate (compliant) biomass at the end of the model run. There is also the option in AutoDEPOMOD to provide a visual representation of the benthic effects footprint associated with any given amount of feed.